Lobbying

Maryland: “Petroleum Industry Leads Maryland Lobbying Spenders – But Lost” by Michael Dresser for Baltimore Sun

Campaign Finance

Canada: “Ban on Big Money in Politics Could Be Delayed by Lobby Reform: BC NDP” by Mike Hager for Globe and Mail

New Mexico: “Secretary of State Unveils Changes to Proposed Disclosure Rules” by Dan Boyd for Albuquerque Journal

New York: “Watchdogs Say Cuomo Is Skirting Campaign Finance Rules” by Brian Rosenthal for New York Times

Ethics

“New Ethics Chief Has Fought to Roll Back Restrictions” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

California: “Ethics Commission: Oakland Councilmember McElhaney violated conflict-of-interest rules, accepted illegal gifts” by Darwin BondGraham for East Bay Express

Louisiana: “Report: Official in New Orleans IG’s office steered contracts to friends, altered reports for ‘personal agenda’” by Jeff Adelson for New Orleans Advocate

Pennsylvania: “Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski Put City Hall Up for Sale to Highest Bidders, Prosecutor Says” by Emily Opilo and Peter Hall for Allentown Morning Call

Pennsylvania: “Aide Pleads Guilty, Says Brady Campaign Paid Primary Challenger to Quit” by Jeremy Roebuck and Chris Brennan for Philadelphia Inquirer

The Anaheim City Council is set to consider an ethics ordinance at its meeting on July 25.

The ordinance proposes a two-year revolving door restriction and lobbyist registration and quarterly reporting requirements. The ordinance also requires certain city officials to retain all email communications for 90 days, rather than the current 37 days.

Councilman Jose Moreno promised to introduce the ordinance upon his inauguration to the city council in response to concerns with the lack of transparency dealing with city tax subsidies for luxury hotel developers.

Lobbying

New York: “De Blasio Ally Didn’t Register as Lobbyist Despite Big Push for a Donor” by William Neuman for New York Times

Ethics

“Manafort Agrees to Turn Over Notes That Could Provide New Details on Trump Tower Meeting with Russian Lawyer” by Rosalind Helderman and Karoun Demirjian for Washington Post

“Five Sentenced to Days in Jail for Supreme Court Disruption Over Campaign Finance” by Spencer Hsu for Washington Post

Elections

“Federal Judge Allows Trump Commission’s Nationwide Voter Data Request to Go Forward” by Spencer Hsu for Washington Post

California: “A New Suit Says Lawmakers Broke the Law When They Changed California’s Recall Election Rules” by John Myers for Los Angeles Times

Virginia: “Transgender Woman Challenges Virginia Bathroom Bill Sponsor” by 2017 Sarah Rankin (Associated Press) for Roanoke Times

Legislative Issues

“In Congress, New Fears and New Protections in Wake of Baseball Team Shooting” by Ed O’Keefe for Washington Post

Procurement

Illinois: “New Details Emerge of Former DCFS Head’s Controversial Contracts, Hires” by David Jackson and Gary Marx for Chicago Tribune

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that pending Gov. Roy Cooper’s legal challenge of Senate Bill 68, which combines state elections and ethics boards, the new merged board can remain vacant.

The boards merged in June into the state Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement after a three-judge panel ruled against the governor, but Cooper has yet to appoint any board members.

With local elections coming up in the fall, some county elections boards are finding themselves in tough positions awaiting appointments to fill seats left open due to resignations because the state board appoints county board members.

The case is scheduled for arguments at the Supreme Court on August 28.

Lobbying

“Cash Surges to Lobby Firms in Trump Era” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Arizona: “Arizona Legislators Attend Conference with Help from Corporations That Lobby Them at Home” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez for Arizona Republic

Campaign Finance

Michigan: “GOP Consultant’s Purchase of Michigan Talk Radio Stations Sparks Concerns” by Paul Egan for Detroit Free Press

Ethics

California: “Is Riverside’s Ethics Code Broken? Seven Hearings, $57,000 Later, Some Say Yes” by Alicia Robinson for Press-Enterprise

Florida: “Miami Lobbyist’s Business Made $1 Million Profit on State Anti-Hazing Contract” by Arek Sarkissian for Naples News

South Carolina: “FBI Investigating South Carolina Statehouse Corruption, Could Expand Scope of State Probe” by Andy Shain, Glenn Smith, and Schuyler Kropf for Charleston Post and Courier

Elections

“Local Governments Keep Using This Software – But It Might Be a Back Door for Russia” by Jack Gillum and Aaron Davis for Washington Post

“Ivanka Trump Received at Least $12.6 Million Since 2016, Disclosure Shows” by Rachel Abrams and Jesse Drucker for New York Times

Legislative Issues

Nevada: “20 Years of Term Limits: How the faces of Nevada’s Legislature have changed” by Yvonne Gonzalez for Las Vegas Sun

Ethics

“Trump Fills Top Job at Government Ethics Office with a Temporary Appointment” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

“‘I Did Not Collude,’ Kushner Says in Prepared Remarks to Senators” by Matt Apuzzo and Maggie Haberman for New York Times

“Trump Team Seeks to Control, Block Mueller’s Russia Investigation” by Carol Leonnig, Ashley parker, Rosalind Helderman, and Tom Hamburger for Washington Post

“Mueller Expands Probe to Trump Business Transactions” by Greg Farrell and Christian Berthelsen for Bloomberg.com

Kentucky: “Complaints Over Gov. Matt Bevin’s Anchorage Mansion Unanimously Dismissed by Ethics Panel” by Tom Loftus for Louisville Courier-Journal

Lobbying

“Lobbyist Gift-Giving at Issue in More States” by Scott Rodd for Governing

Illinois: “Ex-Ald. Singer Among 6 Fined for Illegally Lobbying Emanuel Via Email” by Hal Dardick for Chicago Tribune

Campaign Finance

New Mexico: “Pearce Wants to Tap Funds for Gov. Race” by Dan McKay for Albuquerque Journal

Elections

North Carolina: “NC Elections and Ethics Oversight Is Frozen Between Old and New, with Local Votes Approaching” by Anne Blythe for Raleigh News and Observer

Becky Campbell is back to deliver this week’s state government and ethics news you can use!

Federal:

Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Hired Sessions
New York Times – Peter Baker, Michael Schmidt, and Maggie Haberman | Published: 7/19/2017

President Trump said the never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.” Trump complained that Sessions’ decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. In an interview with The New York Times, the president accused former FBI Director James Comey of trying to leverage a dossier of compromising material to keep his job. Trump also took on Robert Mueller, the special counsel now leading the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election.

Couple Wants to Make Lobbying Accessible and ‘Good’
Roll Call – Alex Gangitano | Published: 7/13/2017

Less than a year after their wedding, Billy and Callie DeLancey started Lobbyists 4 Good to give the public access to K Street lobbyists. The group uses a crowdfunding platform, which allows anyone to create advocacy campaigns around social issues they care about and start raising money. Anybody who creates a campaign and raises $31,000 within a year gets access to either a lobbyist or a lobbying firm on retainer for six months to work on the issue, or a partnership with other nonprofits in the field. “Long-term, we hope to see as many lobbyists working for the people as there are lobbyists working on behalf of the business community,” Billy DeLancey said.

FEC Contacts with IRS Broke No Rules, Report Says
Bloomberg BNA – Kenneth Doyle | Published: 7/19/2017

The FEC’s inspector general found that agency staffers contacted former IRS official Lois Lerner about tax-exempt groups involved in politics, but the contacts did not violate any rules and were not intended to target conservative groups. The conclusion contradicted suggestions by congressional Republicans and others that FEC and IRS staff deliberately targeted Tea Party and other conservative nonprofit groups. The controversy followed the release of a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which said certain political organizations, primarily conservative groups, received more scrutiny than others when applying for tax-exempt status.

Health Care Has G.O.P. Down. Tax Cuts May Be the Cure.
New York Times – Jeremy Peters | Published: 7/19/2017

With the collapse of the effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the Republican vision of enacting significant conservative reform fell victim to the intraparty division, dysfunction, and gridlock that one-party control had been expected to eliminate. Now, some of the conservative groups that helped the GOP win control of Washington are increasingly worried their party’s inability to pass ambitious legislation will imperil its chances in next year’s elections. Republicans fear they could be looking at a worst-of-two-worlds scenario in which they have a historically unpopular president dogged by persistent legal and ethical questions, at the same time they remain unable to restore a semblance of functionality to Capitol Hill.

Outgoing Ethics Chief: U.S. Is ‘Close to a Laughingstock’
New York Times – Eric Lipton and Nicholas Fandos | Published: 7/17/2017

The outgoing leader of the federal government’s ethics office warns in a new interview of the ethics crisis created by President Trump, saying he thinks the country is “pretty close to a laughingstock.” Walter Shaub Jr. said the Trump administration had flouted or directly challenged long-accepted norms in a way that threatened to undermine the United States’ ethical standards, which have been admired around the world. Shaub called for nearly a dozen legal changes to strengthen the federal ethics system – changes that, in many cases, he had not considered necessary before Trump’s election.

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama: Gov. Kay Ivey Bans Lobbyists from Executive Branch Appointments
AL.com – Mike Cason | Published: 7/13/2017

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey banned officials in the executive branch from appointing registered lobbyists to serve on state boards and commissions. In an executive order, Ivey said more than 100 registered lobbyists now serve on boards or commissions. The order says lobbyists represent the interests of their clients and employers, rather than the public. Ivey said that creates conflicts-of-interest and undermines the public’s confidence in the government.

California: What Happens to Local News When There Is No Local Media to Cover It?
Washington Post – Paul Farhi | Published: 7/17/2017

In many respects, East Palo Alto, California, is a “news desert,” a community overlooked, if not entirely ignored, by the media. It is one of thousands of towns across America in which community reporting is shrinking and sometimes disappearing. The biggest factor, according to study of the phenomenon, are cutbacks, consolidation, and closures of daily and weekly newspapers, the traditional lifeblood of local reporting in the U.S. The pressures on local news outlets have been building for years, driven by the recession and the disruption caused by the shift to digital media.

Colorado: What Does $80 Million Buy Oil and Gas Interests? Voter Profiles, Door Knocking and Influence at Local and Statewide Levels
Denver Post – Christopher Osher | Published: 7/16/2017

The oil and gas industry has spent more than $80 million in Colorado over the past four years to shape public opinion and influence campaigns and ballot initiatives. That political muscle came into play recently when the industry successfully lobbied to defeat legislation tightening regulations in the wake of a fatal home explosion investigators have blamed on a severed gas pipeline. The new approach has been broad, sustained, and effective in its reach, according to interviews and a review of industry documents, campaign finance records, and public remarks by an industry consultant who helped develop the strategy.

Florida: Corey’s Ties to Others in FBI Probe Run Deep
Tallahassee Democrat – Jeffrey Schweers | Published: 7/14/2017

Lobbyist and restaurateur Adam Corey has built a business and political portfolio that has seen its share of success and failure, even as it has drawn him deep into the circle of Tallahassee’s new generation of power elite. Those twin rails of ambition have also drawn Corey into the midst of an FBI probe of the city’s redevelopment agency and several other high-profile entrepreneurs it has done business with in the last five years. Front and center are Corey and former lobbying partner at Unconventional Strategies, Nick Lowe, who arranged meetings between city and county officials and three mysterious developers whom sources say are FBI undercover agents.

Illinois: Emanuel Email Case Nets Five More Lobbying Violations
Better Government Association – Jared Rutecki | Published: 7/19/2017

The Chicago Board of Ethics found that five more people who sought to influence City Hall by contacting Mayor Rahm Emanuel on his personal email broke the city’s lobbying laws. The board also leveled fines of $2,500 against an Emanuel campaign donor and the husband of a city council member that it had found illegally lobbied the mayor without being registered lobbyists. In addition, the board released a list of more than two-dozen lobbyists it said had failed to undergo required lobbyist training and could be subject to fines of up to $750 for every day they are in non-compliance.

New York: Airbnb Fights Back Against Lobby Groups, Demands Info on Their Funding Sources
New York Daily News – Kenneth Lovett | Published: 7/17/2017

The battle between Airbnb and its hotel industry-backed nemesis ShareBetter is intensifying. The hotel listing site plans to file a complaint with the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics alleging the advocacy group failed to register as a lobbyist. The move comes after it was reported that ShareBetter pays for spies who pose as Airbnb customers to expose illegal listings. Airbnb claims that the group failed to register as a lobbyist and disclose its funding and expenses, even though it is legally required to do so.

South Dakota: Revolving Door Rarely Swings for Lawmakers Returning as Lobbyists
Sioux Falls Argus Leader – Dana Ferguson | Published: 7/17/2017

A review identified 14 former South Dakota legislators who made the jump to lobbyist since 2012 after serving in office between 2006 and 2017. Only four registered less than two years after vacating their legislative seats. Under a state law that took effect recently, the required waiting period was extended from one year to two. Supporters said the added buffer time was needed to prevent undue influence of lawmakers returning to lobby their peers. Meanwhile, lawmakers who transitioned to lobbyists more quickly said 12 months is enough of a time cushion.

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 60 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

Lobbying

South Dakota: “Revolving Door Rarely Swings for Lawmakers Returning as Lobbyists” by Dana Ferguson for Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Campaign Finance

Florida: “Federal Election Commission Sues David Rivera Over Secret 2012 Campaign Cash” by Patricia Mazzei and David Smiley for Miami Herald

Washington: “Liberal Think Tank in Seattle Ordered to Pay $30,000-Plus in Campaign-Disclosure Fines” by Joseph O’Sullivan for Seattle Times

Ethics

“Eighth Person in Trump Tower Meeting Is Identified” by Rosalind Helderman and Tom Hamburger for Washington Post

“What Happens to Local News When There Is No Local Media to Cover It?” by Paul Farhi for Washington Post

Delaware: “City Removes Newly Appointed Ethics Commissioner” by Christina Jedra for Wilmington News Journal

Illinois: “IG Alleges Preferential Parking Scheme on Streets Near United Center” by Fran Spielman for Chicago Sun-Times

Kentucky: “Ethics Panel: Beshear shouldn’t investigate Bevin if he might run for governor” by Daniel Desrochers for Lexington Herald-Leader

North Carolina: “Former Rockingham County DA Pleads Guilty to Role in Wife-Swap Hiring Scheme” by Anne Blythe for Raleigh News and Observer

Elections

“As Party Drifts Left, Pragmatic Democratic Governors Have Eye on White House” by Jonathan Martin for New York Times

Lobbying

Colorado: “What Does $80 Million Buy Oil and Gas Interests? Voter Profiles, Door Knocking and Influence at Local and Statewide Levels” by Christopher Osher for Denver Post

Florida: “Corey’s Ties to Others in FBI Probe Run Deep” by Jeffrey Schweers for Tallahassee Democrat

New York: “Airbnb Fights Back Against Lobby Groups, Demands Info on Their Funding Sources” by Kenneth Lovett for New York Daily News

Campaign Finance

“Officials Clash at FEC Over Confronting Russian Influence in 2018 Elections” by Lisa Hagen for The Hill

Ethics

“Outgoing Ethics Chief: U.S. Is ‘Close to a Laughingstock’” by Eric Lipton and Nicholas Fandos for New York Times

“Trump Campaign Is Sued Over Leaked Emails Linked to Russians” by Charlie Savage for New York Times

“State Department Spent More Than $15,000 for Rooms at New Trump Hotel in Vancouver” by Amy Brittain for Washington Post

“Break-In Reported at Office of GOP Senator Considered Swing Vote in Health-Care Bill” by Amy Wang and Ed O’Keefe for Washington Post

Legislative Issues

North Carolina: “Rev. Barber Remains Banned from Legislative Building; Some Protesters Can Return If Invited” by Anne Blythe for Raleigh News and Observer

Gov. Kay Ivey banned lobbyists from executive branch appointments in an executive order dated July 13, 2017.

The order states public officials or public employees of the executive branch are prohibited from appointing a registered lobbyist to any executive agency. Any lobbyist currently serving in a position within the executive branch may finish their current term.

The press release and executive order can be found on the Governors website.

Home-sharing website Airbnb is planning to file a formal complaint to call on the Joint Commission on Public Ethics or the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate the ShareBetter coalition, which has spent money to run anti-Airbnb ads, organized lobby days, and established a website calling for grassroots action.

The lawsuit accuses ShareBetter of failing to register for lobbying activities and to file bimonthly and semiannual lobbying reports, among other offenses. However, sources close to ShareBetter say the three entities that make up the bulk of the funding are already registered as lobbyists and have disclosed their activities.

In response to Airbnb’s lawsuit, ShareBetter plans to file its own complaints against Airbnb for failing to report lobbying activities at both the state and city levels.

Campaign Finance

Lawmakers Can Use Campaign Funds for Home Security, F.E.C. Says by Nicholas Fandos for New York Times

Maine: Disputes Over Documents Threaten to Slow Casino Campaign Probe by Steve Mistler for Maine Public Radio

South Carolina: No Race? No Problem. SC Lieutenant Governor OK’d to Raise Money by Jamie Self for The State

Ethics

Walter Shaub’s Ethics Recommendations for the Government by Nicholas Fandos and Eric Lipton for New York Times

Questions Grow Over Kushner’s Security Clearances by Katie Bo Williams and Jordan Fabian for The Hill

Russian-American Lobbyist Attended Meeting Organized by Trump’s Son by Eileen Sullivan, Kenneth Vogel, Adam Goldman, and Jo Becker for New York Times

Connecticut: Ethics Commissioner Resigns After Arrest for Soliciting Prostitute by Brian Lockhart for Connecticut Post

Oregon: Oregon Ethics Commission Votes to Proceed with Investigations of Kitzhaber, Hayes by Hillary Borrud for Portland Oregonian

Lobbying

Alabama: Gov. Kay Ivey Bans Lobbyists from Executive Branch Appointments by Mike Cason for AL.com

Massachusetts: Massachusetts Budget Chair Dempsey Leaving for Lobbying Firm by Bob Salsberg (Associated Press) for U.S. News & World Report

Before the week is over, be sure to catch up on any state government and ethics news you may have missed in this week’s video digest!